by Sam Hall
“I’m going to up their blood flow a bit, see how they cope with civil unrest levels,” the female doctor said, typing on the computer keyboard.
“Now we see who’s human and who’s meat,” the man said.
I could hear the rapid tick of the blood pumps as the soldiers fought and behind the glass, the fighter’s movements grew faster, more precise. You could see they were holding back, there was no blood spilt but the tight, well-controlled motion of their limbs looked like they could easily take someone out if they were allowed free reign. “Heart rates picking up to borderline levels on the third, fifth and sixth.”
“Now it’s showtime,” the man said with a grin, placing the clipboard on the desk and approaching the glass. “Some sign of facial fasciculation on the sixth. Could be a bit of follicular regeneration on third and maybe the second.”
“Her heart rates coming up as well. The rest seem to be tracking well.”
“And your boy?”
“Cool as a cucumber so far.”
“Good, good. Ah, looks like we’ve got a turner. Yep, facial disfigurement on seven. Shut down seven and eight.”
Facial disfigurement was an understatement. The man’s lips were curled back from his teeth in a way I’ve never seen on a human being. His teeth were a lot longer, his eyes began to glow an eerie green. “Numbers 46766 and 21334, stand down. I repeat, stand down,” the woman said in a clear voice over the microphone. The man he was fighting stepped back instantly but wolf-face shuddered, his hands still up, ready to strikeout. His nails began to lengthen. “21334! Stand down immediately!” the woman said with a snap. I jerked at the command in her voice, it was almost like she had a touch of persuasion, her voice echoing through the room. The other subjects fought on but wolf boy’s hands went to his head, raking red lines of blood down his face.
“Hand on the kill switch?” the man asked, moving closer to the glass.
“On your order,” the woman said.
“He’s got fur, and there’s definite muscle growth in the chest region. On my mark.”
“Ready when you are.”
The man looked like he was fitting, his body shaking all over, his muscles almost trying to tear themselves off his bones. His teeth ground against each other, blood droplets beginning to spill on the floor. He made some gods awful sound, a cross between a scream and the howl of a wolf. His hand slammed on to the glass, making the thickened pad and his very long claws painfully obvious.
“Heart rates decreasing, slowly, but it’s coming down. Looks like he’s going to fight the change.”
“Let’s send him to the Taralgorn facility and see what they can do with him. If he can maintain the control, he can slot into the berserker unit. Make sure there’s a kill order placed on his file for the end of his contract.”
“He won’t live out the ten years if he’s in with the berserkers,” the woman said. “Done. Now, let’s move him out and place the ones with the accelerated heart rate together and see what happens, then test the rest.”
Let’s get out of here, I said. We have what we came for.
Gavin found me later that day in their basement. “What the hell is this for?” he said, looking down into a now huge coolroom where there used to be a basement.
“Blood,” I said, closing the door behind me, “by tomorrow morning this will contain a few select specimens of Hesse Corp’s Revolutionary blood supplies.”
“You mean the shit the soldiers are jacked up on?” he said, eyes going wide.
“Won’t be jacked up for much longer,” I said. “We’re clearing the lot out. Did you know the soldiers all have anomalous blood? They don’t like them to have too much, makes it harder for them to appear to be human, but yeah, it's a combination of old vamp blood and werewolf genes from what I can tell. Did you know there’s different strains of the symbiote that if you get infected with it, allows you to do different things?”
He nodded, “Rohan was working on that for a while, was testing a lot of us, but as most of us are turned by him or someone turned by him, we all have the same strain. Maybe there’s some other strains out there, but he killed off most of his rivals when taking the throne, so it’s pretty much just the one. You know, if he gets wind of this, he’s gonna come for it.”
“Just keep your mouth shut and I’ll take care of the rest,” I said.
“That right?” he said with a smile. “Look at you, kicking arse and taking names. I dunno what happened to you up the Ladder, but I like it.” He tangled his fingers in mine, drawing closer, “You’re more like my wild girl. You never used to let anyone tell you no back at the Crèche.”
“Probably because I could get one of the orderlies to back me,” I said.
“And now?”
“And now I’m the avatar of Lyra, goddess of the vampires.”
His mouth was so close to mine, but he stopped and pulled back, staring into my eyes. “You shitting me?”
“Nope.” Show him, I said to Lyra. He jerked back for a second, then moved in closer when I bared what probably looked like a mouthful of shark teeth. “You can’t tell anyone though, OK?” He nodded, his hands cupping my face. Revert me back, I said as his mouth came down on mine.
18
Lethe
Top of building on Main St
Hybrid Sector
The Quarter
So, what do we attack next? I’m wondering if there's some kind of breeding facility. They seemed to have a very good understanding of all of the recruit's genetic backgrounds, I said to Lyra. I was sitting on the top of a building fairly close to the Wall. The goddess was amused that I picked another rooftop, but I liked the ability to see whatever’s coming.
What's that? Lyra said, just as sirens began to wail. I got to my feet; they dotted the Quarter but I’d never heard the things make a sound before. I’d assumed they were broken. They dropped away as one of the big screens on the Wall flicked on.
“We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming for this breaking news,” the newsreader said. The visuals shifted to show the same facility we’d infiltrated yesterday. “A terrorist attack on one of our most crucial military bases was carried out last night. Important supplies used in the fight against the aggression of the Cardinian state were taken under cover of darkness. Soldiers today are moving into the Anomalous Zone to replenish stocks and keep our armed forces strong. Let’s cross to Annette, who’s talking with Charles Hesse, CEO of Hesse Corp and the contractor responsible for the creation of the Augmented Soldier program. Annette?”
“Hi Virginia, I’m here with Mr Hesse. Reports are that you woke up this morning to find that every single sample of blood collected during the Terror was stolen. What are your thoughts on this heinous act and what is the way forward?”
“My company has some of the most stringent protocols in the world, so of course, it was a surprise. Now I find I am just angry. Whoever the perpetrator, they are trying to make Meridian, to make the whole of Cremorne, appear weak, perhaps in an attempt to stage an attack on the capital.”
Those cold brown eyes shifted to look directly into the camera, “I’d like to personally reassure every single Cremorni person that our country has not been left vulnerable. We have several different back-ups in place for just this eventuality. While we like to think no one would seek to challenge the might of Cremorne, we at Hesse Corp had to plan just in case someone did. The augmented soldiers we rely on have been fitted with alternate devices that replicate the blood pumps we all know. The blood was never going to last forever, so we’ve had an alternate in the wings for quite some time. Now we have the chance to use it. We will, however, be moving into the anomalous quarter this morning to take blood samples from the vampire population there. I know there are some in the community that bemoan the cost of maintaining the Quarter, but it is just this kind of case that the internees prove useful. While vampire blood now is not as strong as the pre-Revolutionary samples, we have developed a line of augmentations that will complement
that, which we take to maintain the safety of the people.”
“Shit!” I said, then looked down as a ponderous groan started up at the Wall. Steel screeched on steel and I was forced to clap my hands over my ears to protect myself from the incredible noise. Finally, it stopped and gave way to the sound of hundreds of soldiers marching in time. They didn't protect the Wall; they needn't have bothered. The gap between the two sides of the city was filled with waves of soldiers making their slow synchronised way into the Quarter. They filled the main road that led into the rest of the place, that if followed would lead them right to the Palace. “Fuck!” I said, “get me down on the ground, on the footpath on the main drag.”
As I appeared on the street, I saw a massive tank lumber through the gate only just making it through the gap, the opening in the Wall closing swiftly behind it. They’re coming for the vampires, to drain them and replenish their stocks, Lyra said. We should have anticipated this.
I thought they’d be freaking out too much at the loss and that the soldiers would be incapacitated, I replied. Fuck! They’re coming for the boys.
And about to take out that little girl, Lyra said. My head whipped around to see a kid had stumbled out onto the street, crying, trying to grab the stuffed toy she’d dropped. The soldiers halted and drew their guns. Help me get to her in time, I said to Lyra. I teleported right next to the child and snatched her and the toy up, then we both appeared again on the footpath next to her sobbing mother.
Very good, now what about those lights? Lyra said. I groaned as I looked up, the tank was so big it was taking out parts of the footpath, knocking over shop displays and now uprooting a streetlight with a glancing blow. We flashed over to the light and I looked up, watching the stupid thing creak as it slowly, then not so slowly began to tip over. Help! I said to Lyra, getting under the thing and then pushing it back against a nearby building, but when I turned around another was about to teeter.
By the time I’d stopped three from falling over and several other idiots who thought it wise to try and run across the road, I was ready to be proactive, not reactive. Stop the tank, I said to Lyra. The idea had only just come to me and I was kicking myself. The super soldiers had always been this huge impervious force that none of us could fight against, it took me a while to realise I didn't have to save people from it, I had to stop it. The tank shuddered to a halt, smoke pouring out of the hatch as soldiers clambered out of it, coughing. The rest, however, marched on.
We need to relocate those soldiers, I said to Lyra.
We could, or you could let them meet the vampire Horde.
Why the fuck would I do that?
Blood going missing, a tank’s wiring failing, these are all unlikely but plausible events. A mass of soldiers appearing far outside Meridian city is not. It declares your presence, gives your enemy key information.
But they want to drain the vamps dry. I might not like them but I can hardly let that happen.
You don't need to. This is the first battle in your war. Your troops will be tested and you will gain critical information about how they behave.
That’s fucking cold.
War is hell, my dear.
Teleport me to the Palace, I said. At the very least I can make sure they’re prepared.
I landed on the white marble steps of the Palace in a ball of flame. My heart was beating extra loud in my ears and I was feeling a little shaky, but I put it down to the shock of the troops entering into the Quarter. Small units came when needed, to carry out kill orders or to break up particularly intense border conflicts, but I could count on one hand the number of times I’d seen that happen. “Super soldiers are coming!” I said. “Thousands of them, they’re coming to drain the lot of you.”
Guns were jerked up closer to people’s bodies and some started muttering, but there wasn't much action. My head jerked around as motorbikes and cars screamed up, people pouring out of them as they came to a stop. Nathaniel sprinted up the steps, “We’re under attack!” he snapped. “Weapons and barricades out here, now!” I followed him as he ran into the building and down to the throne room, not catching up until we were at the door. “Lethe! What the…? How?”
“No time for that. There’s a tank as well as the soldiers. It’s out of commission right now, but I don’t know for how long. The blood stocks that feed the super super-soldiers were stolen last night. They’re here to replenish them. It’ll be another Terror.”
“The fuck it will be,” he said through gritted teeth.
“You don’t want to go in there,” one of the lieutenants said, lounging by the door frame. “His Majesty’s been in a right royal mood.”
“Don’t have time for that. There’s a full regiment of soldiers coming this way. He needs to get in the mood.”
“On your head,” the guy said, holding his hands out to his sides.
Walking into the throne room, it was hard to believe the soldiers hadn’t already arrived. Bodies were strewn everywhere; great pools of blood and other bodily fluids marred the white marble. A table with almost a bucket full of yellow sat at the right hand of the throne. “Again!” Rohan screamed at the bodies closest to him. Some moaned, though I couldn’t tell if this was from pain or pleasure. Some made pathetic attempts to make their way back to the king.
“Your Majesty,” Nathaniel said, “we’re under attack. The Meridian have sent their troops in to march against us. They’re here to harvest blood.”
“Hmm? Have them take that,” Rohan said, gesturing to a particularly large pool on the floor.
“Your Majesty, you don’t understand…”
“No, you don’t understand!” he shouted, his eyes wide and lighter now, a dark yellow. “She’s gone and nothing I do brings her back. I’ve tried the sacred rites, the epic poems.”
Gimme Lyra form, I said as I strode up the steps. It took until I stepped into the great pool of light but Rohan’s eyes went wide and unfocussed, his face a picture of pure joy.
“My lady,” he said, dropping to his knees.
“Get up!” I said. “Your people are about to be massacred and you’re in here, playing with your food. This is disgusting. If you value my favour, you will never do this kind of shit again. Now get up, gird your loins and go out there and lead your troops. If you want to be king, prove that I should allow you to be!” Rohan blinked, then visibly shook himself before leaping into action. He pulled a leather jacket that hung from the corner of his throne on and then ran up the stairs.
“What did you do?” Nathaniel said, looking me over for some sort of explanation. Revert me back, I said and I assumed this happened, though there was no change in Nathaniel’s expression. He blinked and then ran after the king, me at his heels.
“Lethe!” Half way down the hall, I turned to see the guys coming from a room that was chock a block full of weapons. “What are you doing here!” Bennett said. “This is dangerous. Soldiers are coming.”
“I know and you two should stay out of it.”
“What?” Gavin said, emerging out with a rifle over his shoulder and a smoke hanging out the side of his mouth. “Not gonna happen.”
“You need to stay safe here,” Bennett said.
“Not gonna happen,” I said and took off at a run. My heart sank as I saw the soldiers surrounding the Palace, the stupid tank rumbling up at the rear. When it came to a stop, one of the soldiers stepped forward and held out a piece of paper, reading out, “By order of the Cremorni government and the Meridian armed forces, all vampires within the Anomalous Zone are to submit for a donation of blood to…” The soldier’s recitation was abruptly shortened by a bullet to the brain. I looked back and saw someone crouched on the roof had taken him out. It didn’t matter, the next closest soldier moved forward and plucked the bloody paper from her fallen comrade’s fingers. “…to Hesse Corp for the purpose of fuelling the Augmented Soldier…”
“Fuck that!” Rohan cried, running down the steps with a bloody bazooka on his shoulder. He dropped into a crouc
h, bracing the thing on his shoulder and then… boom! Soldiers in a five-metre radius were sent flying, knocking down their fellows like a flick to a line of dominos. The eyes of the soldiers swivelled to take in Rohan as one, then hands went to guns.
Fuck, I need armour and a weapon! I said to Lyra. Instantly I was surrounded by a wall of flame. Great, so this deflects bullets?
Of course.
And a weapon?
Extend your arm. I did so and a long sabre made of flame appeared from my hand. What does this do? I asked. I charged at the nearest soldier and swiped at her with my blade. Her torso was shorn from her legs, the edge of the wounds neatly cauterised. Cool, I said and plunged on in.
I could barely hear a thing as I fought, my heartbeat was a heavy ponderous thing, booming in my ears, drowning everything else. Probably for the best really, I merely saw the screams and cries of the vampires as they shot, stabbed, bit and tore at the soldiers, the military men deathly silent as they fought. Soldiers whipped to face me as I approached. I couldn’t help but flinch back as their fingers dropped to their triggers and they shot at me, emptying a magazine into my fireball.
I raised my fire sword and spun in a circle, slicing through just to stop them but another lot stepped up as soon as the others went down. “Lethe!” I heard someone call but I have no idea who it was. Increasingly I was being hemmed in, the flames of my fireball fluttered as the soldiers' pressed in closer. Their skin burned then blackened and peeled, but still they push forward. One with half his face melted off, the white of bone gleaming wetly from the burn, shoved his gun through the flames.
“Lyra!” I yelp but the gun begins to sag and then melt, as does the soldier. I fight on, no art or finesse to what I’m doing, just slashing and cutting, reducing the enemy to BBQ meat.
“The tank!” someone cries and I turn to see Nathaniel leading a group of vamps, each carrying multiple glass bottles. “Molotovs! Now!” I watch them light the pieces of torn cloth hanging from each bottle in frantic motions, other vamps keeping them from being cut down, then the first goes sailing through the air. The impact is dramatic, a burst of flame hitting the flank of the tank. More are lobbed but the soldier at the top, sitting behind the artillery gun proceeds to aim the huge gun at the Palace, unperturbed as the flames begin to spread. “More! Now, now, now!” Nathaniel shouts, then throws his own. Boom! I hear the ominous sound of stone crumbling behind me, but the tank burns now in earnest. Soldiers scramble to pat out the flames, irrespective of what this does to them but there’s something in the mix that makes the flames stick to the exterior like fiery glue. Great gouts of smoke now pour from the thing in earnest. Then I saw it.